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Thursday, March 29, 2018EAC welcomes introduction of the electronic emergency call for all new passenger car models

In accordance with EU law, all new passenger car models with type approval as of 31 March 2018 must be equipped with the new eCall system as standard. In case of an accident, eCall uses mobile telephony and GPS in order to establish a phone connection between the driver and the nearest rescue coordination centre via 112 and transmits a data set with important information regarding location, trigger type and car. „Especially when it comes to serious accidents, sometimes only minutes make the difference between life and death. Here, eCall can have a big impact and it’s about time that also drivers of mid-size and small cars may enjoy its benefits“, EAC President Bernd Opolka comments on the upcoming changes.

In contrast to proprietary emergency call systems of the manufacturers which can be found in most telematic units of premium vehicles, the 112 eCall only transmits data immediately after an accident and to official rescue coordination centres, not to OEMs. Moreover, eCall does not store any vehicle data. As clearly defined in the eCall regulation, any exchange of data between the 112 eCall and proprietary telematic systems run by manufacturers is strictly forbidden. Car drivers with proprietary systems in their vehicles may freely choose between the manufacturer’s and the European 112 eCall.

Due to eCall the response time of emergency services may be reduced by 50% in rural areas and by 40% in urban areas. „The European Commission expects that the number of fatalities might be reduced by 2.500 people every year. Also the number of serious injuries might decrease significantly. ECall is therefore an important instrument to achieve our long term goal ‚Vision Zero‘”, Bernd Opolka emphasizes.